Hamzeh Ahmadi Taraqi sentenced to prison, 148 lashes and internal exile over January protests
Hengaw – Sunday, July 20, 2026
Hamzeh Ahmadi Taraqi, a 28-year-old Kurdish man from Bojnord who was arrested during the January protests, has been sentenced in two separate cases by the Revolutionary and Criminal Courts of Bojnord to a combined five years and seven months of discretionary imprisonment, 148 lashes, and one year of internal exile to Zahak County in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. He was denied access to independent legal counsel throughout his interrogation and trial.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 2 of the Bojnord Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hossein Ebrahimi, sentenced Ahmadi Taraqi to seven months and 15 days in prison and 74 lashes on the charge of "propaganda against the state" in a verdict issued on April 22, 2026. The court also imposed one year of compulsory residence (internal exile) in Zahak County as a supplementary punishment.
In a separate case, Branch 102 of the Bojnord Criminal Court No. 2, presided over by Judge Seyed Mostafa Hashemi and acting on a report by the IRGC Intelligence Organization, sentenced Ahmadi Taraqi on May 16, 2026, to two years in prison and 74 lashes for "brandishing a knife," two years in prison for "disobeying law enforcement officers while on duty," and one year in prison for "disturbing public opinion and inciting violence on social media."
Under Article 134 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code, which governs the aggregation of sentences, only the harshest prison sentence—two years' imprisonment—is enforceable. The two court rulings nevertheless imposed a combined total of five years and seven months in prison, 148 lashes, and one year of internal exile.
Although the official verdict misleadingly stated that Ahmadi Taraqi was "currently free after appointing a lawyer," he was denied access to independent legal legal counsel throughout the judicial process. As a result, he lost the 20-day deadline to appeal the rulings.
Ahmadi Taraqi, who owns a small food shop in Bojnord, was arrested on January 5, 2026, when armed plainclothes agents raided his workplace during the January protests without presenting a warrant.
